by Laura Scott
Grimly, he knew if they’d checked out of the motel on time, hitting the road as he’d initially intended, they would have been driving along the interstate when the vehicle exploded. He wished he could go back and review the wreckage to look for proof. The more he thought about it, he had to assume the explosive device had been on some sort of timer. Because if someone had been keeping them under surveillance, that person would have made sure the three of them were tucked inside the SUV before the blast.
He scrubbed his hands over his face. If he hadn’t insisted on taking Kaitlin for a swim, they would all be dead. Mission accomplished for the bad guy.
But why? That was the part he couldn’t quite figure out. Obviously this had to be linked to his wife’s murder, but he was having trouble connecting the dots. Other than the fact that whoever had killed his wife must be worried that Caleb would figure it out. Avoiding life in prison was a strong motive for the bad guy to kill him.
Unfortunately he really didn’t have a clue who that person was. Someone from the SWAT team, sure, but which one? They all had experience with explosives so it was not as if the bombing of the SUV was a good clue. Most of them were sharpshooters, too. Although he figured he could cross a couple of the guys off the sharpshooter list. Declan had been one of his best friends but the guy couldn’t hit the center of a target at one hundred and fifty feet if his life depended on it. Declan had other skills for sure, including nerves of steel when it came to defusing bombs. But as a sharpshooter? No way.
The thought of Deck making a bomb and sticking it under their vehicle made him feel sick to his stomach. He and Deck had trained together. Deck had been the best man at his wedding.
Had his best friend betrayed him?
He stared out the tinted windows, watching the elderly shoppers making their way toward the bus. They would be on the road soon, which suited him just fine.
But his gut twisted when a squad car rolled into the parking lot of the shopping mall.
Slouching down in his seat, he silently willed the elderly shoppers to hurry. The bus was more than half full, but these people were moving slower than snails, stopping and chatting along the way.
He could tell Noelle had seen the squad car, too, when she shot him a panicked look over her shoulder. He silently shook his head, indicating there was nothing they could do but to wait and hope the bus driver would get on the road. Soon. Thankfully the tinted windows would help hide them.
But what if the cops came onto the bus to search for them? They were sitting ducks here in their seats. He couldn’t bear to think about it.
Honestly he was surprised it took the cops this long to fan out and search for them. He’d kept a keen eye out the entire trip here from the farmhouse to make sure the cops weren’t following their tail. The only rational explanation was that they’d needed to get the fire under control first, to verify they weren’t actually inside the car.
Unfortunately, the cops were here now.
He couldn’t tear his gaze from the squad car, tracking its progress as it headed toward the storefront.
Hurry, hurry! he silently urged the shoppers. The squad car slowed to a stop and two deputies stepped out, both holding photos in their hands.
Pictures of him, and possibly Noelle and Kaitlin, too. A wave of helpless anger washed over him. He should have realized there were cameras in the lobby of the motel. These days there were cameras everywhere. He was trained as a cop, an elite member of the SWAT team. Being in jail for the past year was no excuse. If he didn’t get his head in the game, he’d get them all killed.
One of the deputies turned and glanced over at the bus. He was saying something, but Caleb couldn’t figure out what. He clenched his jaw so tight he was surprised he didn’t crack a molar. There were only a couple of elderly shoppers left, but the very last woman was walking with excruciating slowness, leaning heavily on her cane for support.
Come on! Hurry!
He wondered if the bus driver hadn’t somehow felt his intense vibe to leave as the older guy stepped off the bus to give the woman with her cane a helping hand. The second deputy gestured toward the drugstore where they’d stopped yesterday to pick up their toiletries. After a long heartbeat, the two men went inside the store.
Grimly, he realized the female clerk would likely identify them to the cops, as she’d made a big fuss over Kaitlin at the time. And they’d only been there a few hours ago.
The cane woman finally dropped into a seat toward the front of the bus. The driver stood in the aisle and counted his passengers, making sure not to leave anyone behind.
“Please, Lord, help keep us safe,” Noelle whispered. And he found himself echoing her prayer.
The driver took his seat and closed the doors. “Everyone ready?” he called out.
“Yes!” the chorus of replies rang out from the shoppers.
The driver put the bus in gear and slowly stepped on the gas, sending the bus waddling like an overweight hippo toward the exit. Caleb couldn’t help glancing back at the squad car, willing the deputies not to come out too soon.
It wasn’t until the bus hit the highway, kicking up speed, that he allowed himself to relax. Granted they weren’t out of the woods yet, but if the drugstore clerk did recognize them, there was a good chance the deputies might check the other stores, as well. They’d been at the drugstore earlier that morning but maybe the cops would try to see if anyone remembered seeing them more recently, like early this afternoon. Thankfully they’d gotten on the bus and hadn’t gone into any of the stores.
After several miles had passed and they took the on-ramp to the interstate, Caleb took a deep breath and let it out slowly. They were safe for now.
Thank You, God!
* * *
Noelle unclenched her fingers as they rode along the interstate. Close call. Too close.
She’d sensed the tension radiating off Caleb from the seat behind her and knew he’d been worried, too. But the closer they got to Madison, the better she felt. No matter how much she’d feared Caleb initially, he’d kept her and Kaitlin safe so far.
She’d prayed the whole time the cop car had been parked at the shopping mall and had to believe God was watching over them.
“I’m hungry,” Kaitlin whined, interrupting her thoughts.
“We’ll eat soon,” Noelle reassured the little girl. “As soon as the bus drops us off, okay?”
“I wanna eat now,” Kaitlin persisted. The thrill of riding the bus was fading fast.
Noelle racked her brain for a distraction. “Why don’t we play the alphabet game?” she suggested. “There’s a sign for Acorn Road. That’s A. Can you find a sign with the letter B?” Kaitlin could only read simple sentences, but she knew her letters by heart.
The old tried but true car-ride game kept Kaitlin preoccupied for a while, and Noelle had to smile when Caleb and some of the elderly shoppers sitting nearby joined in the game. Soon the back half of the bus was shouting out letters of the alphabet until they were stumped on the letter Z.
“There! Henry Vilas Zoo!” someone shouted.
“I didn’t know there was a zoo in Madison,” someone else complained.
“Let’s play again!” Kaitlin yelled.
But the bus had already slowed down to pull into the parking lot of a senior-living high-rise.
“We’re home,” Lydia murmured. Noelle wished they really were home rather than heading to another impersonal hotel room.
Being in the back of the bus meant waiting for everyone else to get off first, before they could make their way outside. She glimpsed Caleb pressing a folded bill into the bus driver’s hand as a way of saying thanks.
Her muscles were sore from all the running she’d done earlier, but she ignored the discomfort as she got off the bus and then faced Caleb. “I saw a fast-food restaurant a few blocks bac
k,” she murmured. “Kaitlin needs to eat.”
“I saw it, too,” he said. “Let’s go.”
For the first time in hours they relaxed and enjoyed a quick meal. Caleb asked one of the restaurant workers about motels nearby and thankfully, there was one just a half mile away.
Kaitlin’s energy had rebounded after lunch and she skipped between them as they walked toward the hotel. There was no pool advertised but there was a nice playground, which would hopefully keep Kaitlin happy.
“Swings!” Kaitlin shouted, running toward them.
Caleb took off after his daughter. “Wait up, Katydid.”
Noelle followed more slowly, smiling as Caleb pushed his daughter on the swing. Noelle dropped onto a park bench to watch, knowing Caleb deserved some time to bond with his daughter.
She could leave now, she rationalized. Kaitlin didn’t seem afraid of her father anymore. Of course, that could be partially because Noelle was there with them. Would the little girl freak out if she left? There was a part of her that wanted to believe Kaitlin would.
No, she couldn’t leave Kaitlin just yet. What if the little girl suffered more night terrors? A very strong possibility after they’d barely escaped the explosion. The sound of the explosion was probably all too similar to the gunshot that had taken her mother’s life.
“Noelle? Is something wrong?” Caleb asked.
Since when was he so tuned in to her emotions? She forced a smile. “No, I’m fine. Just tired.” Massive understatement, but complaining didn’t get the job done. In fact, she and Caleb needed to talk. Maybe later, after Kaitlin fell asleep. Because Caleb needed to hear about the black truck that she’d noticed following her. And about the man she’d seen with his wife shortly before she was murdered.
No matter how painful it was for him. Although why she cared about Caleb’s feelings she had no idea.
She was so far outside her comfort zone right now that she had to pinch herself to make sure this wasn’t some sort of nightmare. But no, here she was, on the run with a little girl and her father, a strange man who she barely knew yet trusted to keep her safe.
“Noa, come swing wif me!” Kaitlin shouted.
Unable to say no to the child, she rose to her feet and crossed over to sit beside Kaitlin. She gave herself a small push with her foot, enough to cause her to swing back and forth in a gentle motion. She vaguely remembered swinging on the swings as a child. Some happy memories before the abuse started.
“Come on, surely you can do better than that,” Caleb teased. “Hang on,” he advised. She tightened her grip seconds before she felt the heat of his strong hands in the small of her back, giving her a big push.
“Higher, Noa, higher!”
Knowing Caleb would only push her again if she didn’t go higher, she pumped her legs to keep up the momentum. And when Kaitlin let out a shrill laugh she found herself joining in.
Maybe she was losing her mind. How else could she explain feeling so lighthearted and happy mere hours after running for her life?
Very simply, she couldn’t. And right now, she decided to enjoy the moment.
* * *
Noelle didn’t say anything about the mysterious black truck that had followed her before the shooting until after they finished dinner and then put an exhausted Kaitlin down to bed shortly after eight o’clock. It was still light outside thanks to the approaching summer solstice so she pulled the heavy curtains over the window and set the air conditioner on low.
The hum of the fan provided white noise that would hopefully prevent their voices from waking up Kaitlin.
“You should try to get some sleep,” Caleb said in a low voice.
“So should you.” She slid into a seat next to him at the small table in the corner of the room. Their knees brushed and she swiftly moved back out of the way. “There’s something you need to know, Caleb,” she said, partially to distract herself from his nearness.
His gaze narrowed and he went tense. “Oh yeah?”
She licked her dry lips. “In the week prior to you getting out of jail and coming over to pick up Kaitlin, I noticed a black truck following me.”
“What?” He spoke so loud she jumped in her seat. She sent a worried glance over at Kaitlin, but thankfully the girl didn’t stir. He lowered his tone. “Did you call the police?”
“Actually I did, but the officer I spoke to told me I needed to get the license plate number before they could do anything.” She hunched her shoulders defensively. “But that doesn’t matter. The black truck must belong to the shooter. He must have been somewhere close by that day you came to pick up Kaitlin.”
“Why didn’t you say something before now?” he asked with a frown.
“For one thing, I wasn’t entirely sure I could trust you,” she admitted. Hard to believe she’d only known Caleb for roughly twenty-four hours. And even more amazing to know she learned to trust him in that same short time frame. “And after the explosion there wasn’t time to talk privately.”
His expression cleared. “I guess I can’t blame you for not trusting me right away,” he murmured. “All you had was my word that I was innocent of the crime I’d been arrested for.”
She wanted to reach out to put her hand on his arm to offer comfort and had to twist her fingers together to stop herself. “It’s obvious to me that someone wants to silence you and the only thing that makes sense is that the same person likely killed your wife.”
For a long moment his dark gaze bored into hers. “Does that mean you believe me?”
She couldn’t deny what he seemed to desperately want to hear, the reassurance that someone was on his side. Besides, the more she watched him interact with his daughter the more she knew there was no way he would have murdered his wife with Kaitlin sleeping in a bedroom nearby. And for sure, he wouldn’t take off, leaving his daughter behind.
“Yes. I believe you.”
He stared at her another long moment before he glanced away. “Thank you,” he said in a husky tone. “Now, if I could only figure out who was driving that black truck, we’d actually have something to go on.”
“I never did get the plate number. But there is something else you should know. I was working at the preschool on that Friday before your wife was killed. Earlier that day, Heather was late picking up Kaitlin.”
Caleb sighed. “I was working the evening shift that day. But that sounds like her. Heather was always running late.”
She leaned forward in an attempt to get him to understand. “Twenty minutes late, Caleb. And when she showed up, she wasn’t alone.”
He seemed to brace himself, his gaze resigned. “She was with a man, wasn’t she?”
She hated being the one to tell him this, but she nodded. “Yes. It wasn’t until much later, after the murder and your arrest that I realized the significance. I went to the police and told them what I saw, but without a name there wasn’t much they could do.”
“They didn’t ask you to work with a sketch artist?” he asked incredulously.
She shook her head.
He narrowed his gaze. “Describe him for me.”
It wasn’t easy to go back more than a year to dredge up the memory. “He was tall, over six feet, I’d say. He had dirty-blond hair that was cut short.” He stared at her so intently she sensed she was failing the description test. “He had narrow, beady eyes and was hovering at the door scowling while Heather picked up Kaitlin.”
“How was he dressed? In a uniform?”
“No. Dress slacks and a blue polo shirt.”
“Any tattoos? Piercings?”
Helplessly she shook her head. “Nothing that I can remember. I’m sorry, Caleb. I wish I could give you something more.”
“It’s not your fault,” he said with a sigh. “I can’t help but think he must be one of the guys from
the team. I can probably eliminate a few of them based on your description but there are too many possibilities left over to start throwing around accusations. I need proof.”
She couldn’t bear the way Caleb sounded so dejected. At the moment they still didn’t know much more than they had when this mess started.
There had to be a way to figure out the identity of the mystery man she’d seen at the preschool that evening.
The man who had likely been having an affair with Caleb’s wife. And since she didn’t want to believe Caleb had killed Heather, she figured a jilted lover would have just as much of a motive.
But how on earth would they be able to prove it?
SIX
Caleb stared up at the ceiling, long after Noelle had crawled into bed with Kaitlin, unable to wipe the pleased grin off his face. Noelle believed him.
She believed him!
How ironic that the person who’d known him the least amount of time was the one who stood by him now. Even his best friend hadn’t done that.
Thinking of Declan made his smile fade. He wished Declan had trusted him, because he could use some help in getting to the bottom of this mess. At least Declan had dark hair. Deck couldn’t possibly be the guy Noelle had seen at the day care center. Even if Deck hadn’t believed in Caleb’s innocence, he wasn’t the type of guy to have an affair with his best friend’s wife. He and Deck had often worked the same shifts anyway, and the last time they’d been together their photographs had been splashed across the front page of the newspaper after they’d rescued a child from the Underwood Creek.
That’s it! He abruptly sat up. Maybe he could get Noelle to identify the man with Heather if he searched on the internet for photos of various members of the SWAT team. If they couldn’t find a photo of the guy, at least they could eliminate some of the others right off the bat.
